Mobile computing devices, such as smartphones for example, facilitate storage and communication of a significant amount of information. However, mobile computing devices are also increasingly connected to their surroundings, rendering users susceptible to inadvertent or unwanted dissemination of sensitive, confidential, and/or private information. Information is particularly susceptible to such unwanted dissemination in captive environments where output of user information may result in all occupants of the environment obtaining the information.
One such captive environment is a vehicle in which an onboard vehicle computing apparatus can engender such inadvertent disclosure. Many vehicles include onboard computing devices capable of providing information and services to vehicle occupants such as navigation information and information regarding the operation of vehicle systems. Many vehicle computing apparatus are also capable of connecting to an occupant's mobile computing device that is present in the vehicle, such as by an IEEE 802.15 pairing, for example. Once paired, mobile computing devices can be configured to automatically send information regarding incoming calls, calendar appointments, and/or reminders, for example, to the vehicle computing apparatus for output by the vehicle computing apparatus.
However, a user of a mobile computing device may not want confidential, sensitive, and/or private information communicated by the mobile computing device to be visually or audibly output by the vehicle computing apparatus when any other occupants are present in the vehicle. For example, a user of a mobile computing device may not want sensitive business information, such as upcoming customer appointments or incoming customer calls, to be displayed by the vehicle computing apparatus when a passenger associated with a competitor business is present in the vehicle. Accordingly, distribution of some information to or by a vehicle computing apparatus may be undesirable depending on the context.